Russian Navy

The Russian Navy has been the naval warfare branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Inheriting the majority of the former Soviet Navy, the modern Russian Navy is divided into four main fleets: the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the Baltic Fleet in St Petersburg, the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok, and the Northern Fleet in Murmansk. In addition there is the Caspian Flotilla in Astrakhan, while the Russian Coast Guard is subordinated to the Federal Security Service (FSB). Since 1991, Russia's naval doctrine has been a defensive one, largely due to the country's geography, rather than one meant to project power globally as the Soviet Union and modern United States have. However that is not to say that it is incapable of doing so when it needs to. The Russian Navy has deployed squadrons to fight against piracy off the Somalian coast as part of an international mission and also deployed vessels to the Mediterranean to assist Russian forces in Syria with missile strikes. Although the Navy was plagued with lack of funding and an ageing former Soviet fleet, since the 2010s modernization and construction programs have greatly improved. The flagship of the fleet is Russia's sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, while the largest surface combatant warships in the world, the heavy nuclear guided missile cruisers Pyotr Veliky and Admiral Nakhimov, are also in Russian service.